The former owner of Casa La Pizza in Beloeil, Haci Koskokan, has been fined a total of $173,875 and is serving a one-year suspended prison sentence for a series of tax offenses.
Posted at 1:15am. Updated at 9:00 a.m.
The verdict, delivered on June 28 at the Saint-Hyacinthe courthouse, was announced in a press release by Revenu Québec on Friday. Mr. Koskokan had pleaded guilty to five counts, while his company, doing business as 9379-3792 Québec Inc., also pleaded guilty to six counts.
According to Revenu Québec, the plan was to use multiple cash registers at the Casa La Pizza restaurant on Sir-Wilfrid-Laurier Boulevard in Beloeil to bill customers. However, only one of these was linked to a sales capture module (SRM). “This allowed the company to avoid significant amounts of taxes and duties,” explains Revenu Québec.
Mr. Koskokan admitted to filing false tax returns for both Quebec Sales Tax (QST) and Goods and Services Tax (GST). He also failed to pay the duties stipulated in the Tax Act. Company 9379-3792 Quebec Inc. is being sued for failing to provide a customer with an invoice that contains the required information and was not generated through a revenue recognition module.
Revenu Québec estimates that the company that manages Casa La Pizza filed nine false or misleading tax returns between July 2018 and September 2020. QST and GST amounts, estimated at US$50,191.16 and US$25,171.67 respectively, have not been remitted. He is also accused of failing to pay $28,932 in taxes and failing to file $251,582 in taxes in 2020.
Casa La Pizza is no longer owned by Mr. Koskokan, which could no longer be traced. The eatery’s new owner, who was available by phone for four months, told La Presse that he doesn’t know Mr Koskokan and has “changed a lot of things” since the takeover, particularly the menus.